Monday, 16 December 2013

Nailing an old lie...

Alas, the time is drawing near when I will have to give up this blog for a few months. I know what a grief this will be to my loyal readers, but I have many writing commitments and am also working a in a school some way from my home. I simply don't have time for this at the moment. Before leaving though, I thought that I would take the opportunity to deal with one of the oldest rumours circulating about me. This is that I have named children on this blog. Raquel, who has been commenting here today in her inimitable, if somewhat scatological, way, evidently wants to keep this story alive. She says of me;it is really fucking creepy when a blogger finds out the names of a person's children and uses them in his blog or emails to the parents.Please note that this is a specific allegation; that I use children's names on this blog. As if this was not a public enough accusation, Lisa Amphlett says on her own blog that;. Other parents have, in the past, been understandably upset to have had their children unnecessarily mentioned by Simon Webb — it’s not something that most of us would consider doing out of human decency. I have a lot of sympathy for them.I asked Lisa Amphlett for details of this, but all she would say is that it is, 'absolutely true'. Now I know that some people who visit this blog have difficulty following one, coherent train of thought to its conclusion, but I would really like them to make an effort on this occasion. I have seen this rumour appear in so many places and yet whenever I ask for details of whose children I am supposed to have named here; nobody seems to know. Everybody has heard it said so often that it must be true. Goebbels used the same technique of repeating a lie so often that in the end, people believed it!Here then is what I am asking. We have seen two well-known home educators recently making a specific allegation against me; that I have named children, other than my own, on this blog. What is this all about? Where did this idea come from? I will stay here long enough to deal with this matter, but after that I shall be dropping this blog for a month or two.

34 comments:

Can't comment on the rest, but have a good Christmas, Simon and all other regulars, and good luck in the school. (Or maybe I should be wishing them luck because I have a feeling that they'll notice you're there!)

'Or maybe I should be wishing them luck because I have a feeling that they'll notice you're there!'

A Merry Christmas to you too, Anne. Yes, i think that the children have already spotted the difference. Imagine a squad of thirty nine year-olds being marched across a playground in double time! Did you ever see Kindergarten Cop?

I do, but then Fiona is by way of being somebody I have always liked and got on well with. I rather doubt that she thought this to be creepy stalking. I mentioned her son to give him credit for his achievement. A day or two previously, I had exchanged emails with Fiona and teased her about using a photograph of a an insect as the logo for the blog. She told me that her son had been involved. I certainly don't think that she was upset at my mentioning her son here.

"David Head was at one time General Secretary of the Student Christian Movement. In 1972, he became very disillusioned with schools and decided to educate his eleven year-old daughter Alison and fourteen year-old son Martin at home."

"As for the bit about disordered thinking, I cannot do better than quote Mrs Harper herself on the subject of her daughter's education, ' XXXX is showing a real interest in herbalism, spell work and so on.' "

This is becoming very curious. For years, the story has been that I am in the habit of naming people's children on this blog and so upsetting their parents. Both Raquel and Lisa Amphlett have repeated this allegation. Now, the best that people can come up with is that I have quoted from a forty year-old book, mentioning children who are now in their fifties! Seriously, who are these parents that Lisa Amphlett talks about on her blog; the people who have been understandably upset at my putting the names of their children on here? This is better than trying to explore the Bermuda Triangle or find the truth about Area 51!

'you named a child called Peter?i doubt it worry his parents as there been in the media many times?'

I did nothing of the kind. I blogged in August 2009, mentioning that as a result of the mad rumours being spread by people like Lisa Amphlett, home educated children were contacting me and asking me to speak to Graham Badman on their behalf. I said that I had had one message from a child using the account of a Carol Williams. You, Mr Williams, then named your son in the comments. See;

"We have seen two well-known home educators recently making a specific allegation against me; that I have named children, other than my own, on this blog. What is this all about? Where did this idea come from?"

After speaking to her, Raquel tweeted that i mentioned children's names on my blog. See above. Lisa herself says on her blog:

'Perhaps you think you have justification for mentioning the children and families of strangers you have decided to target. '

and also:

'Other parents have, in the past, been understandably upset to have had their children unnecessarily mentioned by Simon Webb — it’s not something that most of us would consider doing out of human decency. I have a lot of sympathy for them.'

Where else are we supposed to think that I have been mentioning the names of children; other than this blog? I have asked Lisa Amphlett for clarification of these claims, but all she will say is that it is, 'absolutely true' that I mention children's names.

Yes, this doesn't really help. Lisa Amphlett says that i have mentioned children, but is reluctant to say where or when. I am guessing that she means this blog; that seems to be what she told Raquel Toney. I don't know why they are both being so shy now; here is a golden opportunity to denounce me and show everybody what I have done. You don't think that they were just making up more silly stories, do you?

'Isn't this where you mention her daughter in an email? (From her blog):

http://www.lisaamphlett.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/sw-e3.png'

Yes it is and I am bound to say that it looks innocuous enough. As I said in the post, what I am seeking here is any evidence that I have published children's names on this blog. This is what Raquel claims and what Lisa Amphlett herself appears to eb hinting at>

What about all the posts and comments you've deleted over the years? We can't check those for names or mentions, can we?'

I'm not asking anybody to check anything. The claim is being made that i have upset people by mentioning their children here. Who has been upset and what have I said about their children? Raquel is making this claim and so she must have some cases in mind.

But they haven't got anything to back up the claim. They never have. I have reached the conclusion that they simply don't like that home educators have a different view. I have seen so many tactics used,but they all fail. As I have said before - what on earth are they all talking about? Simon has NOT named a child on this blog. I also can not understand how people can object at what is being written about them here, if it is true.